They call it the ‘second-best hockey league in the world,’ but the American League certainly won’t settle for that title when it comes to our ultimate jersey showdown. Whether it’s completely original looks or jerseys designed to pay homage to a team’s NHL parent franchise, the AHL has a history nearly as long and illustrious as the big circuit.
While logos (last year’s competition) are certainly a big part of the hockey jersey, we also considered shoulder patches, striping and piping – so teams gained and lost points based on those factors. You'll also notice both home and away jerseys are used to represent the teams. Simply put, we took the one we liked best out of the two. Third or alternate jersey weren't considered, nor were the new duds for Abbotsford and Texas, who haven't released their sweaters yet.
For the AHL, jerseys we thought leaned too heavily on NHL sweaters were dropped to the middle – they looked good, but we know why.
With all that in play, here are the rankings. Click on each thumbnail for a larger picture.
And once you've taken in our top 27, head over to the voting page to select your favorite from our top 10 and help it to move on in the Jersey Tournament that will follow the rankings of each league’s jerseys (find the rankings and tournament schedule on The Hockey News Jersey Rankings and Tournament Central page).
Over the next two months, THN.com will leave the voting on the best jerseys up to you, the reader. To vote for your favorite, click HERE (AHL jersey voting ends at 9 a.m. EST on Aug. 20.). To see ratings from other leagues, visit THN.com's Jersey Rankings and Tournament Central.